The present invention relates to ski release bindings in general and in particular to the side-clamp safety ski release systems shown and described in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. Re. 26,972, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,370 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,227.
In each of the patents referred to there is disclosed and described a ski release system comprising a pair of side-clamping members which are movable relative to a housing in opposite directions, generally perpendicular to the lateral edges thereof, a connecting member or other means which is movably coupled to the side-clamping members for moving the side-clamping members and a resilient member in an overcenter release mechanism coupled to the connecting member for applying a spring force to the side-clamping members through the connecting member. Depending on whether the movable side-clamping members are mounted in the sole of a ski boot or on the surface of the ski, there is also provided a separable plate or fixed-jaw members for use with the side-clamping members for releasably binding a ski boot and a ski. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 26,972 and 3,606,370 the movable side-clamping members comprises a pair of inwardly directed facing protuberances and a plate means that is engaged by the side-clamping members is mounted to the sole of a ski boot. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,227 the mechanical parts are reversed and the side-clamping members comprising a pair of outwardly extending plate members are mounted in a housing to or in the bottom of a ski boot and the plate member in the form of a pair of upstanding fixed jaw members comprising a pair of inwardly directed facing protuberances for overlaying the plate members in the movable side-clamping members is mounted to the upper surface of a ski.
To open and close the side-clamping members relative to the plate member or to the fixed-jaw members described in the above patents, it is necessary to move the overcenter mechanism by hand. For example, to open the side-clamping members, it is necessary to grasp the overcenter release mechanism by hand and move it from a horizontal position in which it is applying a spring force to the side-clamping members for holding the clamping members in a releasable engagement with the plate or jaw members pivotably upwardly for releasing the spring tension on the connecting member and the side-clamping members so as to permit the side-clamping members to move from the plate or jaw members. Conversely, to enter the binding, the overcenter release mechanism must be pivoted from its vertical or raised position downwardly to a position substantially horizontal to the ski for applying the spring force to the connecting member and the side-clamping members to force the side-clamping members into releasable engagement with the plate or jaw members.
In practice, operating the overcenter release mechanism by hand to enter and leave the binding has been found to be inconvenient and often difficult. This is because a skier, in order to operate the overcenter release mechanism by hand, must either bend over and manually grasp the overcenter mechanism or use a ski pole tip to move the mechanism. With regard to the latter practice, depending on the angular position of the tension-adjusting knob at the end of the overcenter release mechanism, it is frequently difficult to insert the tip of a ski pole thereagainst without having the ski pole tip slide therefrom, there being no other means for receiving the ski pole tip provided for moving the overcenter release mechanism. Bending over and grasping the overcenter release mechanism by hand is also difficult if a skier is wearing bulky clothes. The manual operation of the overcenter release mechanism is also inconvenient and difficult while attempting to retain the relative position of the plate or jaw members and the side-clamping members. If the ski slope is steep or irregular, or the snow conditions deep or slippery, the skier must often frustratingly repeat the operation several times before successfully engaging the plate or jaw members and the clamping members.
For these reasons, it is desirable to be able to simply step into the binding to enter the binding.